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- Pete`s house; turning a monster into an ally!
- Integrating Permaculture design into my work place
- Forest gardening at Margam Park
- Raising Seth; Supporting our son`s journey.
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- Extracts from learning Journal
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Baby led weaning....
Throwing your hands up in horror? Worried about choking etc?
Gill Rapley, Deputy Programme Director of Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative, explains further;
"Understanding the babies motivation
This approach to the introduction of solids offers a baby the opportunity to discover what other foods have to offer as part of finding out about the world around him. It utilises his desire to explore and experiment, and to mimic the activities of others. Allowing the baby to set the pace of each meal, and maintaining an emphasis on play and exploration rather than on eating, enables the transition to solid foods to take place as naturally as possible. This is because it would appear that what motivates babies to make this transition is curiosity, not hunger.
There is no reason for mealtimes to coincide with the baby's milk feeds. Indeed, thinking of (milk)feeding and the introduction to solid foods as two separate activities will allow a more relaxed approach and make the experience more enjoyable for both parents and child.
Won't the baby choke?
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. The ability to pick up very small things develops later still. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get small pieces of food into his mouth. Spoon feeding, by contrast, encourages the baby to suck the food straight to the back of his mouth, potentially making choking more likely.
It appears that a baby's general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to 'help' the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid foods takes place at the right pace for him, while keeping the risk of choking to a minimum.
Tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods is dangerous. A baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position. This ensures that food that he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth.
Adopting a baby-led approach doesn't mean abandoning all the common sense rules of safety. While it is very unlikely that a young baby would succeed in picking up a peanut, for example, accidents can and will happen on rare occasions – however the baby is fed. The normal rules of safety while eating and playing should there be adhered to when the transition to solid foods is baby-led."
More information on Gill Rapley`s research available here.
Alex discovered this common sense approach to weaning, and I am now also embracing it. It makes absolute sense for a child to learn how to chew before it learns how to swallow! It certainly doesn`t make sense the other way around which is the conventional methodology that we are all conditioned towards utilising. It has been fascinating watching Seth deal with a variety of foods. His gag reflex serves him well if seated upright, and he has needed no encouragement to feed himself. At six and a half months old, and being a big strong boy, he is more than ready for self feeding. he has been watching us eating intently for some time now, and enjoys clearing up a tray of interesting edibles. His hand/eye co-ordination has evolved dramatically in a matter of days.
"Understanding the babies motivation
This approach to the introduction of solids offers a baby the opportunity to discover what other foods have to offer as part of finding out about the world around him. It utilises his desire to explore and experiment, and to mimic the activities of others. Allowing the baby to set the pace of each meal, and maintaining an emphasis on play and exploration rather than on eating, enables the transition to solid foods to take place as naturally as possible. This is because it would appear that what motivates babies to make this transition is curiosity, not hunger.
There is no reason for mealtimes to coincide with the baby's milk feeds. Indeed, thinking of (milk)feeding and the introduction to solid foods as two separate activities will allow a more relaxed approach and make the experience more enjoyable for both parents and child.
Won't the baby choke?
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. The ability to pick up very small things develops later still. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get small pieces of food into his mouth. Spoon feeding, by contrast, encourages the baby to suck the food straight to the back of his mouth, potentially making choking more likely.
It appears that a baby's general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to 'help' the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid foods takes place at the right pace for him, while keeping the risk of choking to a minimum.
Tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods is dangerous. A baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position. This ensures that food that he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth.
Adopting a baby-led approach doesn't mean abandoning all the common sense rules of safety. While it is very unlikely that a young baby would succeed in picking up a peanut, for example, accidents can and will happen on rare occasions – however the baby is fed. The normal rules of safety while eating and playing should there be adhered to when the transition to solid foods is baby-led."
More information on Gill Rapley`s research available here.
Alex discovered this common sense approach to weaning, and I am now also embracing it. It makes absolute sense for a child to learn how to chew before it learns how to swallow! It certainly doesn`t make sense the other way around which is the conventional methodology that we are all conditioned towards utilising. It has been fascinating watching Seth deal with a variety of foods. His gag reflex serves him well if seated upright, and he has needed no encouragement to feed himself. At six and a half months old, and being a big strong boy, he is more than ready for self feeding. he has been watching us eating intently for some time now, and enjoys clearing up a tray of interesting edibles. His hand/eye co-ordination has evolved dramatically in a matter of days.
The following are a sequential flow of videos demonstrating Seth`s first experiences of baby led weaning following on from the first video which can be seen here.
The vegetables had been very lightly boiled firstly, just to take the edge off their firmness and allow Seth the opportunity to chew. He has no teeth yet, but his hard gums serve well enough. He is clearly stacking functions here! As well as learning and developing on so many levels whilst simultaneously being nourished, chewing on the vegetables brings relief for him whilst teething by massaging his gums. The fact that the vegetables have only been lightly simmered briefly also means that they are far more nutritious than would be the case had they been boiled to a mash.
It is clear to see Seth experimenting with his hand movements and growing in confidence and ability the whole time. He is learning at his own pace and is quite obviously enjoying himself, smiling and vocalising during the process. At this stage, Seth deals with the brocolli with a combination of hard sucking and clear chewing, (which developed to the stage seen in the videos rapidly over two or three sessions) that renders the food suitable for swallowing. Here he tries some toast;
Decent sized chunks of food ensure that he is able to grip the food and still leave enough purchase for his mouth. Small items, which would increase the likelihood of choking significantly if suddenly presented in the mouth, stay inside his clenched fist and are dropped when Seth`s hand opens once he has chewed the protruding food piece and reaches for another. Small pieces that are dropped are very difficult for a baby to pick up. Accidents can happen of course, as is the case with other more conventional weaning methodology, and we of course monitor Seth as he feeds.
Gill Rapley`s observations;
"There is no need to cut food into mouth-sized pieces. Indeed, this will make it difficult for a young baby to handle. A good guide to the size and shape needed is the size of the baby's fist, with one important extra factor to bear in mind: Young babies cannot open their fist on purpose to release things. This means that they do best with food that is chip-shaped or has a built-in 'handle' (like the stalk of a piece of broccoli). They can then chew the bit that is sticking out of their fist and drop the rest later – usually while reaching for the next interesting-looking piece. As their skills improve, less food will be dropped."
Below, Seth mixes a combination of foods of very different textures. We can see his gag reflex in action as he deals calmly with awkward pieces. He is very relaxed, smiling and communicative during the whole process, he passes a tidbit my way before reaching for another for himself. So often, when spoon feeding babies, (as has been the case previously when spoon feeding Seth when he is hungry) the child learns to "scream" for the next mouthful, in the manner of a bird in the nest. Primates, which is after all what humans are, have surely developed further than screaming for their food as infants? Developing apes such as chimpanzees imitate the behaviour of their parents and other adults and older juveniles and investigate and explore their food for themselves naturally, just like Seth is here.
I would like to think that a child that self feeds and learns to deal with food naturally develops a stable relationship with food and is less likely to develop eating orders. Research over time would be interesting on this subject.
Gill Rapley`s observations;
"There is no need to cut food into mouth-sized pieces. Indeed, this will make it difficult for a young baby to handle. A good guide to the size and shape needed is the size of the baby's fist, with one important extra factor to bear in mind: Young babies cannot open their fist on purpose to release things. This means that they do best with food that is chip-shaped or has a built-in 'handle' (like the stalk of a piece of broccoli). They can then chew the bit that is sticking out of their fist and drop the rest later – usually while reaching for the next interesting-looking piece. As their skills improve, less food will be dropped."
Below, Seth mixes a combination of foods of very different textures. We can see his gag reflex in action as he deals calmly with awkward pieces. He is very relaxed, smiling and communicative during the whole process, he passes a tidbit my way before reaching for another for himself. So often, when spoon feeding babies, (as has been the case previously when spoon feeding Seth when he is hungry) the child learns to "scream" for the next mouthful, in the manner of a bird in the nest. Primates, which is after all what humans are, have surely developed further than screaming for their food as infants? Developing apes such as chimpanzees imitate the behaviour of their parents and other adults and older juveniles and investigate and explore their food for themselves naturally, just like Seth is here.
I would like to think that a child that self feeds and learns to deal with food naturally develops a stable relationship with food and is less likely to develop eating orders. Research over time would be interesting on this subject.